Choice
by Just Burn It With Fire
Summary: Blake isn't taking her friends' new relationship well. One-sided Monochrome, White Rose mentioned, Pyrrha dishing out some good advice


A/N- Oh yes, hello there. I've been a member on this site for many years now, but I got tired of looking at all my old awful writing. Starting fresh. This is it. Anyway, huge fan of RWBY right now. Love it. Awesome. Huge fan of monochrome. Yeah man! Without farther ado, here's my story.

* * *

She wasn't surprised. Despite having her face buried in a book the majority of the time, she saw all the signs. The way Ruby always gave Weiss some kind of physical contact. Hugs, mostly. As the semester went on, Weiss complained less and less, eventually leaning into the offered comfort. They studied a lot these days, mostly alone. Whether it was the library or huddled together on Ruby's bed, they were always together, shoulders pressed close. Yang couldn't be bothered and Blake was her normal withdrawn self. Still, the news made her chest ache.

"Weiss totally said yes!" Ruby proclaimed, jumping onto her older sister's shoulders. Weiss rolled her eyes in response.

"There's still time for me to change my mind." There was no venom behind her words and the hint of a smile ghosted her lips. Blake's stomach clenched as she looked away.

"Congratulations." The words were dry and she cleared her throat. But no one noticed, or perhaps they didn't care. Ruby was ecstatic. Weiss was amused. And Yang was Yang.

"Maybe we should switch your bunks to a double." Her not-so-subtle eyebrow lift only strengthened Blake's disgust in the suggestion. She felt downright ill at this point. They were her friends. She was supposed to be happy for them. With the speed of an injured sloth, Blake closed her book and rose to her feet. No one batted an eyelash. Blake clapped Ruby on the shoulder and forced her lips into a half-hearted smile. Her eyes connected with the bright blue eyes of her other friend.

"I wish you guys the best." Blake supposed that was the right thing to say and by the reactions of her teammates, she must have been right. However, the only thing she really wanted to do was to scream. "You guys can fill me in on everything later. Sun and I have plans this evening." It was a lie. She didn't want to know any more. She had no plans with Sun. His attention was on a first year rabbit Faunus with an accent. But again, her team was clueless. Instead, Ruby embraced her in a tight hug and they waved her off with cheer. Blake was sure her heart was one beat from falling right out of her chest. She fled from the room with all of the speed she could muster, reminiscing on the last time she had fled from her own bedroom. The hallways of Beacon were soon replaced by the grassy courtyard outside. Just like last time, she found herself at the foot of the familiar statue she grew to loathe.

'Perhaps Grimm come from the broken hearts of those doomed to loneliness.' It was such a preposterous thought, but the more she thought about it, the more it seemed possible. One day, she would comb through the forest in search of signs of white, only to be brought down by the blade of a red scythe.

"You could have asked her." The familiar voice of her neighboring team's strongest fighter cut through her thoughts. Blake turned around to see the sympathetic green eyes of none other than Pyrrha Nikos.

"It wouldn't have mattered," Blake mumbled, turning away from the redhead. Despite the bow sitting proudly atop her head, her feline ears could hear the gentle footsteps of the fighter as she moved to stand next to her.

"Are you sure?" Blake let the question hang in the air between them, her eyes focused on the Grimm statue in front of her, but her mind was a jumbled mess. Her feelings were clouding her thoughts and her thoughts were leaving her with a massive headache.

"An heiress and a Faunus scum." Blake let the statement hang as she mindlessly rubbed at her aching temples. Pyrrha hummed in response, knowing full well of Blake's heritage at this point.

"You're not scum, Blake." Instead of comfort, her words earned a dry laugh.

"And yet you're the one here and not my team. Not even my partner." Blake trailed off at the word partner, turning to stare up at their open window. "I don't even know what love is," she mused, words soft as the orange glow of the sunset illuminated the pair.

"If you didn't know, you wouldn't be here," Pyrrha stated. Blake tore her eyes away from her window and locked eyes with her friend. She was right, only love could bring her this kind of pain.

"It's too late now." Regardless of her own feelings, the object of her affection was taken.

"I didn't take you for the kind of person to give up so easily." For the first time since Pyrrha had come down to speak to her, Blake started to feel slightly shaken by her words.

"They're happy. She's happy. Why would I ruin that?" she replied quickly, refusing to meet the green eyes that seemed to see right through her.

"Because you're afraid. If you put your pride aside for a moment, you'd see that." A switch flipped in Blake as she snapped.

"What about Jaune?" she sneered, trying to turn the tables onto her companion.

"He's not ready. That's different," she snapped. For a moment, the two stared at each other, daring the other to back down. Finally, Blake sighed and looked away again. A chill fell over the pair as the last remaining light of the day disappeared over the horizon.

"What would you do?" Blake's amber eyes shone bright in the early dusk as she turned back to Pyrrha, her anger dissipating as fast as it bubbled up.

"I would have told her," Pyrrha answered. Blake's ears twitched as she tried to ignore how the redhead's straightforward words made her feel.

"It's too late now." Blake wanted to brush off all these feelings, but Pyrrha rounded on her.

"You keep saying that. She's a Schnee, Blake. It was never going to be easy. Look how long it took her to open up to Ruby." Pyrrha's words were starting to make the aching in her chest intensify. Blake spared another look at her bedroom window before looking back at Pyrrha.

"I love her," she said, voice trembling as she admitted it for the first time. Pyrrha wrapped her arms around Blake's shoulders, pulling the Faunus close. She could feel the hot tear drops on her bare neck as Blake finally let herself feel for first time since she heard the news.

"I know. Whatever you do, it's your choice. You've always had a choice."

* * *

Hours later, Blake found herself face to face with the closed mahogany door that kept her from her room. She placed her left hand on the cold surface, listening for signs of life beyond. The lights were out and she prayed that her teammates were already asleep. Wordlessly, she grasped the brass door knob with her free hand and pushed forward. A sliver of light shone through the open window and illuminated the room. Weiss' bed was empty and Ruby's curtains were closed. Blake closed her eyes and tried to steady her breathing as a few stray giggles broke through the silent night. Blake undressed as quickly as she could and fled for the safety of her bed. Yang's arm dangled dangerous close to her face, but Blake dodged it and lay down. Sleep was so far from her mind. Pyrrha's words hung over her head as she dared a glance up to her team leader's bunk.

"I never had a choice."

* * *

A/N- It's been 2 years, but I've finally been able to produce something. Yay. I'm still pretty rusty, so I'm starting out small. Any reviews with creative criticism would be great. Reviews with any criticism is okay too. Take your shipping hate somewhere else though. I don't play like that.

THANKS FOR READING! :D


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